For XC descending, I find that pumping and weighting/unweighting the wheels at the appropriate points makes a big difference.
- Pumping to get “free speed”
- Weighting the wheels at turns, and where I need to brake.
- Unweighting to make things a little lighter over rocks/roots
Note: knowing when to weight/Unweight the front wheel is key, as front wheel is required for turning and breaking, but don’t want to overdo it and go endo.
The above requires a lot of body movement, and like others have said, a dropper post helps a ton.
I’ve found that my skills progressed really only when I rode tougher terrain. Riding the same flow trails week in week out only got me so far.
For steep enduro or downhill descending, I’m out of my depth and avoid stuff like that - both the rider and my 130mm trail bike are outmatched!